Feb 9, 2015 - 1 min read

Kamakura's Hase Temple in January

Autumn is still hanging on, but spring is on the way

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

Entrance to Hase Temple

Some statues outside the entrance soaking in the sun

A group of statues with a hint of red

The same statues from the back

A statue sitting in the temple's small pond, with dusk coming soon

The lovely momiji maple trees made me think that autumn was still with us

Black lanterns, bamboo, and momiji

And this lone, simple ume (plum) blossom told me that spring is right around the corner!

One of the many beautiful Buddhist statues here

A great view of the sea from Hase Temple on a windy day

A nice collection of very old statues

Happy-go-lucky Ebisu, the God of Fortune

The temple also has a very nice garden just inside the entrance, to the right

Notice

Kumamoto Castle sustained heavy damage during the 2016 earthquake. During the summer of 2021, the inner keep reopened after a 5-year reconstruction period. However, sitewide renovations are expected to continue until around 2038.

Latest on Kumamoto Castle

Hase Temple is just down the street from Daibutsu (The Great Buddha) so be sure to visit both of them. It's also just a five minute walk from the beach, so you might want to fit that into your Kamakura itinerary, as well.

I visited on a warmish day in mid-January and I felt like we were skipping winter and going straight to spring from autumn. There were still beautiful momiji maple in the temple grounds, but I also spotted the first ume (plum) blossom of the year, a sure sign that spring is right around the corner!

More info

Find out more about Kumamoto Castle.

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Larry Knipfing

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

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Elena Lisina

Elena Lisina 5 years ago

Interesting shots!

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Iain Stanley

Iain Stanley 9 years ago

Ume are blooming down here too, but it's still freezing haha!!

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